Epic Birthday Weekend

Friday, March 18^th, 2011

After a few chill days in Granada, it was time for my amazing weekend to begin! Friday, I went with a small group of CEGRI students and our program directors to Cordoba for the day. We had tons of places to go and see today. We visited several of the famous buildings around town, such as the Arab baths, the cathedral, the mosque, and more. In between our tours, we had a 2-hour break to have lunch and check out more of the city. Lunch was fun because we traded food like we were back in the 4^th grade. I got the tuna sandwhich! Afterwards, we had our minds set on finding the plaza de toros, or something like that. It took a while to navigate around the windy streets, but eventually we found it. It was a gigantic plaza with cute restaurants all around. It would have been nice to see this plaza back in its prime. While walking back to meet the group after our break, Jeanette, Mckenna, and I got a bit lost. On the plus side, we discovered remnants of Roman ruins. After a pit stop at the ice cream place, we met back up with the group to see the mezquita. All day it was super hot and sunny, so by the time it was 5 o’clock, I was definitely ready to head home to Granada. Friday night was the Festival de la Primavera, or in other words: Botellon. This happens once a year and all of the youth of Granada go to a plaza to drink and celebrate outside. I’m glad I did not attend this because I heard there were no bathrooms…and no bathrooms plus a ton of drunkards?  Yup, you can probably imagine the aftermath.

                                                       Mckenna, Jeanette and I in Cordoba!

Saturday, March 19^th, 2011

Early morning; alarm went off at 7 a.m. in order to catch the bus to the Granada bus station. Fail. I ended up having to pay for a taxi that cost 5 euro more than the bus. Oh well. Totally worth it because I got to go to beautiful NERJA, Spain!  We arrived around 11 a.m. and checked into our fabulous 3 person private room for only 11 euro! Score! It was perfect and cheap. After getting a bit lost on our way to the beach, we finally found our way to a private beach where nearly 15 more chicas from CEGRI were sun bathing. For the rest of the day, we chilled, snacked and had lunch, and tomar-ed el sol for the whole day. I got a little bit sun-kissed, but it was to be expected. I even used 50 SPF!  Later that night after an amazingly long and warm shower, we met up with 10 or so chicas for Mexican food. It was quite the awful service experience, especially since the restaurant was empty, super cold, and the menu prices were soooo high! I got a burrito (except it should have been on the children’s menu, it was so small) and I paid 13 euro. Yikes!  Still yummy though. Early bed time tonight after viewing the incredibly full moon on the beach. Is this real life?

Sunday, March 20^th, 2011

Mckenna and I decided to hit the beach early and the rest of the girls headed for the world famous caves of Nerja. I decided not to go because they were an hour walk away and cost too much money. The two of us met up with Breanne, a girl from the program who had her parents and sister with her. It was really nice to actually talk to an American family, which sounds strange, but it was comforting. I think Breanne’s family ended up having a really nice time at the beach. Around noon, Mckenna and I met up with the rest of the girls at a different private beach to have our lunch (which we purchased super cheap from the Mercadona, yes!) For the rest of the day, we again tomar-ed el sol and hung out. We played a little cards and later ended up doing some adventurous exploring. I also enjoyed walking alongside the water looking for shells and seaglass. I took some home as a souvenir. Around 5:30, the whole group decided to get ready and head back to the bus station, but not before having an awesome ice cream cone overlooking the Mediterranean Sea!   Looovvveeed Nerja and I highly recommend it to anyone.

"Vamos a la playa!  ( A mi me gusta baila!)"

                                                  Our beautiful view as we enjoyed some helado.

Monday, March 21^st, 2011

Strange day: here goes: Today is my 21^st birthday.  I always imagined my golden birthday being something epic, like partying it up in Vegas, etc. etc.  This is how it went: I woke up to my senora forgetting my birthday completely and her saying I don’t understand any Spanish at all and basically that I’m dumb. I regressed to my room and cried. I always hate having a birthday actually. The day took a strange turn during my break with Rachel.  I was feeling kinda low and was looking forward to just chilling with her for a while. As an awesome surprise she gave me a pair of amazing dangling earrings! I can’t wait to wear them out all the time J.  Within only a few seconds of receiving this present,  I was crying again! This time, it was out of happiness and I hugged and thanked Rachel. I think I was so emotional because it really is hard being away from my family and twin sister. It was the first time in my life that I wasn't at home with everyone to celebrate mi cumpleanos.  The gift from Rachel was such a nice gesture and I love the earrings so much! 

Back to school, I had an art fieldtrip outside to visit some cathedrals. Along the way, a bird pooped on my tan leather jacket and it was green caca!  I almost cried here, but felt that 3 times in one day (on my birthday) would have been too excessive.  In order to cheer myself up, I treated myself to some candy, but only had 35 cents. I explained this to the owner and he said to take a little and then he would weigh it. Turns out, it was 65 cents worth, but he basically told me that it was a gift from him to me. I walked out of there with a smile and headed home. After quickly getting ready, I told my senora I was going out for my birthday. She felt terribly that she had forgotten and she gave me a kiss on each cheek. I met up with the girls at school and went to dinner at this amazing American food place where I got a huge hamburger and plenty of French fries (with mayo).  The girls were all so nice when they each chipped in and paid for my dinner.  :) Love you girls!  We went out for one drink and tapas after, but decided to call it an early night. When I get back to the states, I will definitely party round 2 American style. 

                                                                      My first sip of beer.   :)

                                                      Tapas at Bella y la Bestia con mis amigos!

"Chill" time in Granada

Monday, March 7, 2011

Every Monday and Wednesday, Catalina has made me a sandwich to-go and I eat in a plaza near my school.  I will no longer be eating in my favorite plaza and I’ll tell you why.  From the top: Usually, I sit by myself on a bench and eat my lunch. I take my time and enjoy the sun. I have found that sitting in a plaza alone is a great way to meet locals. Since the Spaniards are a bit more forward than Americans, they aren’t afraid to start conversations with people. I have come to know quite a few construction workers that take their lunch break there along with a fellow named Andres.  I really did enjoy talking with Andres during lunchtime, especially because it was all in Spanish. He probably sat with me for 3 lunches in total, but I got to know a lot about him. I found out that he is 56, yet he appears to be in his mid 40’s. He smokes a lot and enjoys Spanish cuisine. He is an aspiring author, waiting to see if his first book can be published. Overall, super nice old guy, but as soon as I tell my family about him, they go bonkers, in a caring sense.  Long story short, once the entire extended family has gotten involved, I decide to email the poor guy with a lie. I tell him I no longer will bring a packed lunch because my senora wants to cook for me everyday at home. Lies. I actually will still bring a lunch, find a new plaza, and forever avoid my favorite lunchtime bench. No pasa nada. I will meet more locals and hopefully they will be closer to my age and less creepy.

Tuesday, March 8^th, 2011

After lunch today, which was migas y pescado (fried bread crumbs and whole fish), I took a nap and woke up feeling really motivated to go running.  I was really curious to run along the river. I ended up running to an amazing sports park. It had outdoor exercise equipment, multiple tennis courts, a kids playground, and a skate park. It’s always really neat to encounter something new. I’m tempted to go back and rent a racket to play…any takers? Later on after my shower and homework, Catalina made a fantastic dinner! It was some type of chicken and also a plate full of steamed artichokes. I never thought I would be a fan of something like this, but I think it’s one of my favorite vegetables now. I should learn how to make them… along with all of my other favorite meals here!  Time to actually study- grammar quiz on Thursday: kill me now. 

Thursday, March 10^th, 2011

Apart from the fact that I had to take a very difficult grammar prueba today, I had a wonderful afternoon/evening in Espana!  Lunch was served, and for the first time, my senora made French fries…homemade! Also, I ate 2 sunny-side up fried eggs with several pieces of bread…yum!  After a lengthy siesta, I got motivated to get ready and go out to meet some chicas. Earlier that day, I had received a text from my friend Stephanie that read,  “sunset and margaritas tonight?”  Of course I wanted to see the sunset and drink some margs! At 6:00 I met up with my friends, Stephanie and Abby, at school.  The plan was to watch the sunset up at San Nicholas in the Albaicin where there is the best view in the entire city: the beautiful Alhambra. We enjoyed the view, drank and ate chocolate. Couldn’t get any better?  Next stop: La Cantina Mexicana for a margarita! I was in a bit of a hurry because volunteering for the soup kitchen was tonight, so I had one real quick (only 1 euro) and headed off to volunteer. I got there just as they were saying grace. Perfect timing. I helped serve the sopa de pollo. It’s interesting to interact with the locals here, especially since most of these people eating at the soup kitchen are either homeless or they are gypsies.. a.k.a. I get to interact with some real Spaniards. I didn’t learn any funny jokes today, but there were 2 gorgeous boys working tonight. Too bad they were only 17. After soup was served, we cleared and brought out the second course, which was pasta. It’s common to give them seconds and thirds of each course. I find myself trying really hard to make conversation with these people, but at the same time, I always end up saying “lo siento, no entiendo..” but they understand and then rephrase whatever they were saying before.  I really enjoy talking with Jose because he is always making jokes or singing or smiling. It is really fun to be around him. When we were finished cleaning up tonight, one of the workers asked if I could come back on Saturday at 8:30. I will try, but I also want to go out with some chicas to El Camborio (disco in the caves). Anyways, after volunteering, I was so happy to find out that my friends were still at the Mexican restaurant. I hurried back in time for one more 1-euro margarita. Que oferta! We all decided to call it an early night.

                                                            Cheers to a new Thursday ritual!

                                                           Muchos estudiantes de CEGRI enjoying some euro margs!

Friday, March 11^th, 2011

After a day of running, eating, napping, and relaxing, I met up with the orphans (Sarah, Rachel, Amanda, and Stacy later on) to go see a movie!  I honestly cannot remember the last movie I saw in the theatres, which means it has been quite a while. I was so excited because we were going to see Tangled… in Spanish!  We snuck in candy and snacks, even though the sneaking part wasn’t necessary there, and we settled in right as the movie had begun. It was a good idea to see a childrens movie because the vocabulary was right up our alley. I understood basically all of it and was really proud!  I guess that sounds pretty lame, but it was great to see a whole movie and be able to understand in a different language. After the movie, we decided that we wanted tapas or dinner or something. After walking around for a while, Sarah remembered a Mexican place she wanted to try.  Once inside the girls ordered a margarita and I later ordered a tinto de verano. It was great to be able to catch up with the girls, even if it was mostly complaining about our senoras. Around 1 a.m. we figured it was a good time to head home.

Saturday, March 12^th, 2011

Rachel and I went to the market today, but not really to buy, only to look and maybe attempt to barter. I picked Rachel up at her place at 12 p.m. and we took our time walking over there. It was a relaxing afternoon and it was nice to be able to get out and walk around for a few hours. We each bought something from the candy/nut stand and found a park bench to try a few. Afterwards, it was time head home, but since I basically had an entire free day, I offered to walk with Rachel back to her piso (apartment) and I did. Once back at my piso, I heated up the delicious lunch that Catalina had made. It was a vegetable dish with ham along with some chicken on the side. I had the laziest day afterwards that included a long nap and skyping with several friends and my family. All in all, I stayed in bed that day from 4 until 8: win. 

After getting ready, I headed out that night to meet up with some people to pregame, go to a bar, and hopefully head to the disco in the caves. Once at the park, it seemed as though half of CEGRI was there too, also pregaming for the disco in the caves. I played it cool because I didn’t eat dinner besides an apple. We headed into Los Grifos, the bar with the taps at each table, around 12:30 and drew some beer from the tap. We each only had one, besides Rachel, just so we could experience it. Rachel began our epic night of bartending, NBD.  Around 1:45 a.m., the rest of the gang decided to leave Los Grifos and head to El Camborio, the disco in the caves. Rachel and I were seriously too busy having the time of our lives being the bartenders. After a while, the real bartender took his seat on a bar stool and we were allowed full control of the bar. We made drinks for the locals! The whole night was hilarious and I’m pretty sure my abs hurt from laughing. Around 3 a.m., it was time to go home. The 30 minute walk home turned into an hour of hilarity that even if I tried repeating I don’t think I could. The funniest comments were made and that walk was quite memorable to say the least. Once at her flat,  hilarity ensued. I won't go into details, but I basically had a 30 minute conversation/lecture with a 70 year old woman. Epic night.  I must say though, I was extremely proud of myself for speaking Spanish and understanding the majority of what the senora, aka butterball, was saying.  Basically, it will be another good story to tell back home. 

                                            Mini-botellon before the epic bar-tending inside Los Grifos.

                                                 Miguel taught the two of us the ways of bar-tending!

Unofficial and El Camborio

Friday, March 4, 2011

Unofficial.  I actually did start it with a very enjoyable, 30 minute run. I was super proud of myself for even running, but then my senora knocked my spirits down a bit when she said she was surprised at how short I was gone and maybe I was out of shape :/ I guess I’ll have to make an attempt at running more. I am signed up for the marathon in October…  After a shower and lunch, the festivities of unofficial were about to start. Since I didn’t know how/didn’t care to share with Catalina about the details of the day, I told her I was going to a café and then out for tapas with my friends and wouldn’t be back until later that night. First stop, meet up with people near Los Grifos around 4 p.m. The original group was about 10 people all together and we smartly chose to begin our celebration with 1.50 euro 40’s of Alhambra. Like a group of sketchy teens, we drank our beer in broad daylight in a plaza. NBD.  Around 5 p.m., we ventured into Los Grifos. This bar is unique because each table has its own beer tap. In theory, this is a fantastic idea! The bar has the advantage though because it got a little pricy by the end. Each person paid between 10-15 euro for about 4 beers.  I had so much fun though, especially because of Antony! He was probably 70 years old, drunk, and smoked too many cigarettes. He attempted to teach us Flamenco dancing too. Later on, he bought me a beer :) Antony introduced me to Victor, a 27-year-old local Spaniard who still studies at the University of Granada. Apparently, he’s not too bright of a student.  Anyways, I held a legit conversation in Spanish for nearly an hour. I was so proud of myself!  Once we paid our bill, it was off to our favorite Irish Pub in town, Hannigans. Here, a few others drank more, but I opted for water (and a schwarma)- good life choice.  This unofficial was super fun and I’m glad I could still participate even if there is a bit of a lake separating us from U of I.

                                                Estabamos celebrando el dia no oficial en Granada!
                                                 

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Around 10:00 a.m. I receive a text from Sarah about the Mercadillo. I almost forgot about it so I’m super glad she reminded me. I met up with Sarah and Nicky around 11:15 and walked back with them towards the market. On our way, we picked up Stephanie who I had invited to come along.  I wasn’t planning on buying much today, but I walked out with a bag of sweets, a pair of white knock off converse shoes, a long black peasant looking top with a belt, and thick black sweatpants that are so comfy! Some great purchases I think. The market was hoppin' today and Sarah and Nicky loved the atmosphere. We’re pretty sure that a large portion of everything sold at the mercadillo has been stolen from the stores. No pasa nada. Around 2 p.m. it was time to say bye to the girls and head home for lunch. 

I was able to skype with my parents for nearly 2 hours and shortly after I took a long nap. After hanging out with Catalina, eating dinner, and getting ready to go out (hair straight!) I met up with a large group of people around 11 in the city center, bought some alcohol to pregame at La Plaza de los Tristes, and headed to El Camborio around 1 a.m. I was drunk by this point and should not have had any more alcohol at the bar. Of course, I had at least 3 shots of tequila… obviously, the nights ended in shambles for me.  Sarah and Rachel helped me out a ton. Rachel was a lifesaver! I went outside to the patio to sit down and try and relax. Around 3:30 a.m. Rachel, Nicky, Amanda, and I took a taxi home. All I can say is, I’m so greatful for my friends here in Granada. 

                                               At the disco, el Camborio. Check out the Alhambra.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

I slept until 12 and was super hungover. Excedrin migraine for breakfast: breakfast of champions. I ate lunch early at 1:30 by myself and also swiped an orange Fanta from the fridge. Yum. Chill day and time to actually do some homework…ended up taking a massive nap, showering, eating dinner, and doing only a little homework. Sorry about it!

Volunteering in Spain!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Tonight was my first time volunteering at the comedor social, or soup kitchen in Granada. For my culture class at CEGRI, it is required to volunteer about 2 hours each week. This is both to be submerged in the community as well as it is to improve our Spanish speaking skills and confidence.  For the first month of searching and looking for a place to volunteer, it was very difficult to get into contact with the comedor social. I called several times and the secretary at CEGRI also called several times, but still no response. The telephone number that was included with the information did not function at all. Instead, we needed to go directly and speak face to face with the director of the comedor social. I originally went to speak to them with Sarah, strength in numbers, except we went around 1 in the afternoon and it was closed. We soon found out that nighttime hours were much better and there was dinner served there for people to come and enjoy a hot meal. 


Once back from our large break and a long weekend, I was finally available to go back again, this time by myself. I went around 7:00 at night and got there in time to help prepare the chicken soup. At first, it was a bit uncomfortable because everyone was speaking to me so quickly with their thick Andalucía accents. Once I told them I didn’t understand everything they were saying, they all were so wonderful and spoke slower and clearer for me. I discussed my working hours with the director, Jose, and we figured out that Tuesday and Thursday nights will work best for my schedule and theirs.  Soon after, one of the cute older women working at the soup kitchen tied an apron around my waist and told me to wash my hands quickly so I could help cook. Soon after, they pulled out 2 entire chickens from the boiling water basin and plopped them in the sink to rinse with cold water. From there, three of us were assigned to pick apart the chicken meat into small pieces so that they could be added to the soup. Afterwards, I watched as some of the women added vegetables to the soup. While I wasn’t physically helping at this time, I was certainly learning a lot of vocabulary from the staff. Everyone was so kind and truly wanted to help me learn. I didn’t get to interact with the locals who were coming here to eat, but I will on Thursday.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Day 2 at the comedor social.  I was there for 2 solid hours from 8:30 until 10:30 p.m. I was introduced to the new kitchen staff, which was equally as nice as the Tuesday stuff but way more hilarious. 3 of the 5 of them wanted to learn English! So I told them I would help with their English and they could help me with their Spanish!  There is a funny man named Jose who liked to make fun of me and tell jokes as well. In the kitchen, I helped prepare a little bit of the dinner by cutting up 15 or so lemons for the tables. Then, as we waited a little while longer for the soup to get ready, I talked with the other workers. Two of them are students at the University of Granada working through a program called Erasmus. Then there is Jose, who is a middle aged funny man who later invited me out for tapas, but I politely declined. Lastly, there was a married couple, both in their late 30’s or early 40’s. The husband was deaf, so it was interesting trying to talk with him. He was interested in getting to know WHY exactly I was volunteering. It was hard to explain to a deaf Spanish man that it was required for a class…but with the help of his wife, he eventually understood me.


Promptly at 9 p.m., the doors opened and people came in to eat. The room holds about 60 people and its necessary for the people outside to grab a number as they wait in line so as to secure them a meal. As a volunteer, our jobs were to serve them dinner, but not without saying grace first.  Even if it was in English, I wouldn’t know all of the words to the Lord’s Prayer, but it was so interesting to hear a prayer in Spanish. After grace was said, the soup was immediately served. I grabbed a large pot of steaming hot chicken and vegetable soup. I carried mine towards el fondo, the front of the room to serve the first tables. Mostly men were at the comedor social, so it was interesting when a few of them (drunk probably) tried to hit on me. A little gross, but interesting all the same. Let me tell you, it is difficult to understand a homeless man’s drunken smoker’s accent in Andaluz.


After soup was served, I was asked to pass out more bread, which was in a large crate. The bread seemed to instantly vanish, but I guess it was only because everyone there was practically starving. Next course was spaghetti, but first we needed to clear the plates. After doing so, we served the pasta. I received many thank you’s and more pleases. It was quite the experience. Throughout the evening, I was even asked if I was Spanish, but I think these men were only trying to please me. Another popular guess is English, but of course I never lie and I always admit that I’m from the States. Apparently, a lot of the Spanish think negatively of Americans, so maybe next time I’ll tell a little white lie and say I’m from Ireland J


Once the pasta was eaten and plates were cleared, it was time for dessert, which was their choice of a vanilla yogurt or chocolate pudding. The pudding was an interesting choice because, later, it was a bit difficult to clean. The diners were asked to leave soon after and the clean up began. We swept and mopped and washed the tables and cleaned the dishes. All the while, I was picking up on Spanish words, like rag, sponge, blanket, and more.


**The funniest part of the night was actually when I was the butt of their funny joke. Jose asked me to repeat the word “cebolla” which means onion after 3 phrases and repeat fast. It goes like this, “Cebolla por la manana, cebolla por la tarde, cebolla por la noche.” When you say this fast, the word cebolla turns into a dirty word, se folla, which means to have sex in Spanish. They thought it was hilarious, and eventually I understood the joke as well. Oh well, know I’ll just have to pass on this joke to all the other Americans. I said goodbye to the awesome staff, grabbed my coat and walked out. Not too much longer after, I randomly ran into 5 American girls from my program. They graciously invited me out for tapas, which I accepted. For dinner tonight I only had eaten an apple and a twix bar, so it was nice to have a drink and a tapa. It was a great way to end an awesome day. Time for bed. Tomorrow is “unofficial” but not entirely sure how I am celebrating it. Maybe with a long run in the morning? I think yes.

Long Weekend in Barcelona!

BARCELONA!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

With my bag packed and my tuna bocadillo para llevar (to-go), I went to my 6:30-8:00 p.m. class. Directly afterwards, I met up with Amanda and Rachel to walk/cab it to the Granada bus station. On our 1 and ½ hour bus ride to Malaga, Rachel and I talked in Spanish for a good portion of the viaje. We actually held a pretty legit conversation too! We hopped the airport shuttle and we set up camp in our usual airport café couches. I probably slept around 3 hours that night, which was way more than expected!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

We had a semi-early flight to Barcelona at 8:20 a.m. but right before our time to go through security, Amanda got attacked by food poisoning or some kind of stomach flu. We are blaming it on her Senora’s bocadillos that sat out on the counter all night.  The plane ride was pretty rough for Amanda, but all of the flight attendants were super nice and continued to ask if she needed anything to feel better. Once we landed, Amanda was starting to feel a little better, but we all really needed to just get to our hostel and rest for a bit.  I was hoping to just pay for the four nights at the hostel and head straight to our beds, but a bit of a bump in the road occurred. I had booked a 4 person private room for only 3 people…so that meant that we were forced to pay for the 4^th bed. Not cool. If we switched to a different room with only 3 beds, it would have cost just about the same. Oh well.  We paid the extra 40-euro and stormed off to our room. We were all really mad at the time but later realized that it was probably worth it in the end to stay at this hostel because of the amazing location on Las Ramblas and the fact that we had a huge room with our own bathroom and shower was amazing. Free internet with no time allowance was an extravagance that we were not used to as well.  Once situated in our rooms, we settled down for a nap, which shortly turned into a 5 hour nap. No pasa nada. It was much needed anyways, especially for Amanda.

Once we were all awake, we decided to walk along Las Ramblas. This is a very touristy street that has a bunch of restaurants, tourist attractions, entertainers, and much more. We stopped in at the Boqueria Market were there was fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, nuts, and CANDY galore!  I was in heaven. After being super touristy and taking photos of everything, we were on a mission to buy super cheap food at the grocery. We were successful in purchasing our breakfast/lunch/snack food all for under 8 euro each for our 4 day weekend. Pretty awesome I’d say. That night, we stayed in and planned our mammoth weekend in Barcelona.

Fruit!

Candy!

Friday, Feb 25, 2011

After researching tours around the city from the night before, we found an intriguing 4 hour bike tour of Barcelona. If anyone is interested in a super fun time and also get to learn a thing or two about this wonderful city, I highly suggest checking out Flat Tire Bike Tours. It was 20 Euro but worth every penny- seriously. The day was perfect and sunny. I think the other girls would agree that it was probably the best thing we did all weekend. We toured some of the best places in the city including the Gothic quarter, Sagrada Familia, Parc de Ciutadella, the Olympic Villave, Port Vell, Barceloneta Beach, La Catedral, Palau de la Musica Catalana, Plaza de Rei, Arc del Triumf, and the Basillica de la Santa del Mar. It was the perfect afternoon! The tour even stopped near the beach for a lunch and sangria break. Amanda, Rachel, and I ordered a pitcher of sangria while we ate our delicious packed lunch that consisted of nutella sandwiches, apples, granola, and cookies. So nutritious!  After our basically 2 glasses of sangria, it was quite entertaining to hop back on the bike to finish our fabulous bike ride through the city. Once back at our hostel, we decided to nap for a little while before we got up and rallied. 

Arc de Triumf- Bike Tour!

Sagrada Familia with the chicas!

Lunch break near the Barceloneta Beach

We decided to do a little shopping, mostly for jewelry (and long earrings, but failed) as well as stopping for dinner at a fast food vegan restaurant. I ordered my first falafel pita and thought it was super tasty, and only 4.20 euro.  We were super cheap, and as typical poor college students, we searched for our cheapest pregame option, which turned out to be 1-euro bottle of white wine. Yep, you heard me right.  We pregamed in our hostel that night and headed out to Razzmatazz. This is apparently a super fun discoteca in Barcelona, but by the time we got there, the three of us were so tired and ready for bed, a bit lame but true. We paid the awful 15-euro cover to get in (which didn’t even include a free drink! --Granada, there are so many great things about you that I take advantage of).  Once inside, we enjoyed our favorite shot, tequila. After exploring the place, we decided we’d give dancing a try. Basically, it only proved to us even more how creepy Spanish men are, pero no pasa nada, it was great to experience the nightlife either way. After getting lost and being forced to take a cab home, we all passed out in our beds and looked forward to hiking in the morning.

Saturday, Feb 26, 2011

Because of our late arrival to our hostel last night around 6 a.m., we slept until 12:30 that afternoon. Even though we were still exhausted and a bit hungover, we gathered our strength and put on our hiking clothes. Actually, it was more me putting on hiking clothes and Amanda and Rachel dressing like athletic Sorority girls. We set off for Mt. Tibidabo with our google map directions. Google steered us a little wrong, but we eventually found our way 2 hours later. Once on the trails, we found a great spot to eat our cute packed lunches of the same food- nutella sandwiches, apples, granola, and cookies. Shortly after, we stumbled upon a steep bike path, which obviously, we took up the mountain. Man was it a workout! My quads are still store!  Thank god we finally made it to the top of the mountain. It was a long way getting up there but the view made it all worth it. From the top of Mt. Tibidabo, every part of Barcelona could be seen. None of my pictures do it any justice. The way down was much quicker, as well as way more hilarious! It included a photo shoot on the side of the road, which apparently, was witnessed by some friends studying abroad in Barcelona who coincidently were taking a bus up the mountain…shout out to Alex Catuara!  Within an hour, we made it down to the bottom and like magic, we found a metro station with our train leaving in 5 minutes! Talk about good luck J

The sorority hikers. 

The Intense Hiker.

The end of our awesome photo shoot!

Back at the hostel, we napped a bit and got ready for a fun evening with some AOII’s in Barca. We met up with Stephanie D’Anza and Alex Catuara along with some of their friends to have an actual apartment pregame! It’s crazy how someone can miss something like getting drunk in an apartment. The plan was to go to a shot bar and get a flaming harry potter shot, but a few got a little too drunk so we decided to call it a night and hail a cab.  A bit of shambles, but hilarious all the same. We made it back safely around 3 a.m.

Sunday, Feb 27, 2011

Around 11 a.m. that day, the three of us were ready and eager to go on our free Gaudi walking tour of Barcelona.  It included all of his major architectural works except for Park Guell. Our guide was really knowledgeable about the city as well as about architecture and Gaudi. We were able to revisit the Sagrada Familia too. By the looks of his works, Gaudi was both a madman and a genius. Most of his works look like they were created after taking some acid and drinking some absinthe, oh wait, I’m pretty sure that’s true? Around 2 p.m. that day, the tour ended and we ate our adorable lunches and I’m sure you can guess what we packed. Amanda was eager to see the inside of Sagrada Familia, but Rachel and I were curious to check out the tour of the Gothic Quarter.  On our way to the second tour, Rachel and I tried the gelato and loved it!  I had a bit of trouble eating mine. I ended up with ice cream all over my hands and spilled a bunch on our table. A bit embarrassing, but I guess I can see why my Senora always tells me I eat like a child. For our second tour, our tour guide had an attractive Australian accent. Let me tell you, I hung on his every word. I actually learned a lot on this tour including: 60% revenue comes from tourism in Barcelona, it is legal to carry 50 grams of weed in one big bag (not smaller bags though), it is legal to walk around naked but illegal to walk around without shoes. Also, it is tolerable to carry around 2 pills of ecstasy and a small amount of cocaine. Hmm, who knew!? 

Gaudi

After this interesting tour, Rachel and I enjoyed a 1 euro glass of sangria with the rest of this tour group. A bit tipsy, we met up with Amanada and headed off to Gaudi’s famous work of Park Guell. It was a race against the sun setting basically. By the time the metro dropped us off, we were watching the sun set. It was difficult to really see the extent of this park because of the lack of light, but I got the general concepts. The park was a bit trippy but understandable because it was created by Gaudi. On our way home, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and chilled at the hostel. Early bed time tonight because our alarms were set for 4 a.m. to catch our 6:30 a.m. flight back to Malaga. Woo!  We were up and traveling from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day but we finally made it back to Granada.

** It’s a great feeling to know that I will be able to have a long relaxing month of March in Granada with only a few one or two day excursions. 

 Viva Espana!

Semana Blanca: Amsterdam, Prague, and Ireland!

AMSTERDAM!

Thursday, Feb 10, 2011

After packing my bag and saying goodbye to Catalina, I headed towards the bus stop. I jumped on the #33 bus that supposedly traveled towards the Granada Bus Station. I ignorantly took this bus in the opposite direction, and after gathering enough courage, I asked the driver if the bus was ever going to turn around and go to the bus station. Obviously, his response was no and I needed to switch to the other 33 bus. I was super panicked for time because my ALSA bus to Malaga was leaving promptly at 9 p.m. I told the second bus driver to go as quickly as possible. My hands started to sweat and my heart was racing the entire way there. Finally, we made it to the station where I hopped out and ran to the bus terminal. Thank god! The bus was still loading people and I was able to catch the bus. Phew!  Too close of a call for me. I tried to relax on the 1 ½ bus ride to Malaga but I couldn’t knowing we had a whole night and a morning to kill before our flight to Amsterdam. At the airport in Malaga, I made some strange attempts at sleeping, but eventually gave up. I probably got 20 minutes of sleep that night, if that. 

Friday, Feb 11, 2011

As the time approached to go through security at the airport, our plan took action. Since our first flight only allowed one carry-on up to 11 lbs, we decided the best idea was to layer as many clothes on as possible. It was quite the hilarious sight. I wore 4 pairs of socks, boots, jeans, a tank top, a t-shirt, two sweaters, a leather jacket, a pea coat, and my scarf. I would say that’s pretty normal travelers attire. I was literally sweating bullets as we passed through check-in and security. No one even looked twice at our bags!  On the plane, I magically fell asleep for the majority of the ride. It was glorious.  We made it to Amsterdam!  A metro ride away- we found ourselves at our hostel called Shelter City. It’s located in the Red Light District, but I seriously recommend it to anyone visiting Amsterdam because it is super safe (sidenote: It’s a “Christian” hostel- but I think that adds to the safe environment feel).  Sarah, Rachel, and I are rooming together in a Harry Potter sized closet and Amanda and Stacy are sharing a room with 2 really sweet German girls.  So far, I love the people I have met at the hostel and the city seems super fun too!  Tonight at the hostel, there is a free Valentine’s Day party and dinner. They served a strange Asian noodle dish with fresh vegetables and dessert was pudding with stroop waffles! These are the best dessert in the whole wide world: Wafer cookies with caramel in the middle. After dinner, we made friends with David at the front desk. He gave us some awesome advice about where to go in the city.  The five of us left Shelter City and headed out to explore Amsterdam. We walked through the Red Light District and man was I shocked! I had heard stories about what to expect, but never really realized these stories to their full extent. Two doors down from the hostel, prostitutes stood staring back at us with only a glass door separating us. Fun fact: Prostitution is legal in Amsterdam. After exploring some more, we decided to play it cool and head to an Irish pub for a beer. Early bed time tonight because tomorrow will be a long day!

Saturday, Feb 12, 2011

Free breakfast! I chose the worst option (bread and ham) but it was still free J  Sorry that it reminded me of Spain! The other girls were smarter and ordered the granola, yogurt, and fruit option. I’m doing that tomorrow for sure! Promptly after breakfast, we met up with Wendy Wise and her friend Blake right outside of our hostel. We were headed towards Dam Square for a free walking tour of the city. The tour was fantastic and super informative! Even though it was a bit rainy and cold, we still managed to have a really fun time. We learned a lot about the city’s history and famous “culture” if you will. We later hit up McDonalds for lunch (sorry I’m not sorry) where I ordered chicken nuggets and a stroop waffle McFlurry. Around 4, we left to go to the Heineken factory! The tour was worth every penny because it included some great information, a taste test and lesson on how to correctly taste and drink the beer, a virtual reality ride of being made into Heineken, and two free pints of the brew. Next on the agenda: Run home to get ready and go out! We attended the Amsterdam Ultimate Party Pub Crawl, which was actually kind of a bust, but we got a cool t-shirt! That night, we met some interesting German boys and taught them funny American phrases. I find that to be quite entertaining actually and I also love to learn slang phrases in other languages.  We also learned our lesson to always carry our cell phones; it would make things a bit easier J Back to the hostel at the early hour of 3:30 a.m., we happily crashed in our tiny hostel room.

                                                         Met up with Wendy in Amsterdam!

                                                       AOII's (plus Amanda) at the Heineken Factory!

                                                         (Overpriced) Bar Crawl in Amsterdam

Sunday, Feb 13, 2011

Free breakfast round 2 at Shelter City! I was super pumped to say no to the stupid toast option and get the granola and yogurt: score! Today, Amanda and Stacy decided to go to the Anne Frank museum and Sarah, Rachel, and I went to the Van Gogh Museum. It was amazing to be able to see some of his most famous works of art. Fun fact: our friend David secretly shared the hostel museum passes with us so we could get in for free!!  Once finished with the museum, we had food on the brain so we stopped at a nearby supermarket and purchased a feast for super cheap! We saved tons of money doing it this way instead of eating out at a restaurant. For less than 4 euro, I purchased a loaf of bread, jelly, stroop waffles, and a diet coke. We’re set! We ate our picnic back at the hostel and quickly passed out for a long nap until 9 p.m. We decided to play it cool tonight and hang out at the hostel, play some card games, meet some other travelers, and just chill.

                                                              Victoria  A.K.A. Christophina  :)

Fun facts/observations about Amsterdam:

1)   Amsterdam was built on a marsh, which is why the buildings lean over

2)   The apartments are super thin because there used to be a tax on building width.

3)   The oldest prostitute is 72 and there is a 2-week waiting list to see her.

4)   Prostitute Prices: 50 euro=15 minutes but nothing more than just intercourse. Pay more for extra activity, if you will.

5)   Weed is illegal, but it’s decriminalized: Can carry up to 5 grams of weed on your body. Only can smoke it at home or in a “coffee shop”

6)   Amsterdam was rated the 5^th safest city in Europe.

7)   It takes 28 days to brew Heineken beer. Ingredients: water, hops, barley, and Grade A yeast.

8)   There are more bikes than people in Amsterdam. A drunk game is to find unlocked bicycles and throw them in the river.

Monday, Feb 14, 2011

Even though our Airplane from Amsterdam to Prague was delayed, we still arrived around 9 p.m. to our hostel, Czech Inn. Again, I highly recommend this one. We were spoiled to say the least. The rooms were gigantic and super clean. The whole hostel was super modern and the staff and travelers were all very friendly. We later hung out in the hostel bar and ordered a beer for really cheap. We stayed in and chilled that night.

Tuesday, Feb 15, 2011

Around 8:30 a.m., we woke up and got ready for the day. We walked towards the tourist office for our free tour, but ended up getting un poquito lost. Good thing there was a tour later that day. We had an early lunch at a cute outdoor café. I ordered a hamburger and French fries, but it was a joke. It was more the size of a slider that came with 8 small French fries. Good thing we had bread to fill up on!  After lunch, we met our tour group. Our guide was James from Ireland and we fell in love with his accent (Can’t wait to visit Ireland!) Prague is such a beautiful city and it was great to be able to learn all about its’ history. When the tour finished, the five of us frolicked along the Charles Bridge and tried to look for the John Lennon wall, but failed. Still really fun though! Our next stop was to go shopping at a grocery store where we bought snacks, dinner, and beer for the equivalent of 3 euro!  It was such a great picnic back at the hostel.

Tonight, we had our minds set on going to the famous 5-layer club in Prague. While it was quite difficult getting to the club to say the least, we eventually made it all there and paid cover to get in. A bad thing about Prague is that people can smoke indoors…so needless to say we reeked of smoke when we left. We thought this night was going to be a dud when no one seemed to be having much fun when Sarah and I met these 5 Italian guys. The other three girls decided to call it a night, but Sarah and I stuck around.  While Sarah met the love of her life, I chatted it up with the 4 other Italian boys. I eventually directed most of my conversation, ironically, to the only Italian boy who didn’t know any English. Smart, right? I guess it was more of a game for me J Sarah and I partied like Europeans that night and crawled into bed around dawn. A quick 2 hours of sleep and we were ready to start our next Prague adventure!

                                                       Beautiful view from Charles Bridge in Prague

                                                        Our 5 Italian Boys at the 5 Layer Club

Wednesday, Feb 16, 2011

This morning, Sarah and I laughed over our adventures from the night before as we headed out for the day. Before our next tour, we stopped to get lunch at a hotdog and sausage stand, where I strangely chose the hamburger (cheapest option…obvie).  I was determined to stick to a strict budget in Prague; 1000 kr which is equivalent to 43 euro.  We thought today’s tour was going to be 250 kr, which would have been a large part of my budget, but we magically found the same tour for free!! I turned to Sarah and said something like, “we’re rich!” Even though it was really only a few euro to celebrate over J Another fabulous tour, but we were wiped out and decided to head home early.  I decided to hang out at the bar, check out my email, and chill for a while. Instead, I met a 27 year old, extremely interesting British guy. We talked together for nearly 3 hours (I also watched my first full soccer/futbol game on TV. It wasn’t terribly boring, I do admit) We discussed politics, futbol, cultural differences, and spiritual views. I honestly wish I had asked him for his facebook or email so I could keep in contact with him. 

Later on, Sarah came down and we attempted to journal, but it turned into a big fail when some Spanish guys joined our table with their bottle of absinthe. NBD.  It was the first time I ever saw an absinthe shot with a flaming spoon of sugar on top- I’m still not sure what that does…  I invited my English friend to join, but he decided to stick to beer instead of the shots. Sarah and I each only had 1 of the shots, but the others girls came down later and had a few more. Needless to say, they went out and had a crazy night.  Sarah and I called it a night around 1 a.m. and the other girls trickled in around 4 or 5.  Prague is beautiful and peaceful during the day, but gets quite rowdy at night.   Glad we all made it alive out of Prague J

Thursday, Feb 17, 2011

Time to travel to Ireland! Woo! We hoped on a quick plane ride to Dublin and then checked into our hostel at the Paddy’s Palace. This one, I do not recommend because it was super dirty and shady. We only stayed there because it is the pick up point for our amazing Paddywagon Tour (which I definitely recommend!) We chose the 3-day tour of Southern Ireland. That night, we chilled and had dinner out pretty cheaply. Excited for the tour to start!

Friday, Feb 18, 2011

We woke up pretty early around 6:30 a.m. to shower and get ready for our tour. Since we shared the room with 4 other random girls, we were as quiet as possible, but I’m sure they woke up to the 5 of us getting ready.  Free breakfast was served but only consisted of toast and cereal. I’ll take it! Promptly at 8 a.m., the Paddywagon pulled up and we boarded the tour bus. On our first day of the tour, Galway was our first city destination. We stopped to see the old Guinness castle and the surround village. Once in Galway, we were dropped off at our hostel where the 5 of us roomed with 3 other super nice girls. One was from Australia and the other 2 were backpackers from Canada. That night, Amanda had her friend Dillen meet up with us so he could show us around Galway. It’s a pretty small downtown area. We walked to the bay and it was a beautiful sight even though it was rainy and windy. Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the Paddywagon group at a local pub for some real Irish food. I had a pint of Irish cider with Irish stew! It was a pricy meal but definitely worth it. I enjoyed the live band and they played great sing a long music, even some American tunes! Around 12, I went back to the hostel to crash.

In Ireland, I definitely feel way more comfortable in my own skin than any other place in Europe. It may just be the red hair and Irish heritage, but I seriously felt at ease and at “home” in a way. I could see coming back later to travel here again or even live here.  I adore the Irish accent and so far, all of the people I’ve met have been very friendly and inviting.

                                                       I can totally see myself living here someday. 

Saturday Feb 19, 2011

I woke up much earlier than the others to shower and get ready for the day. I enjoyed another free breakfast and then set out for one last walk around Galway with Mathila, the Australian girl in our room. She was really nice and I loved getting to know her a little more. That morning was sunny and beautiful so I decided to head back to the bay and show Mathila the amazing view.  After our morning walk and back at the hostel, it was time to board the Paddywagon for day two- Cliffs of Moher! On our way, the bus made a stop at the Atlantic Ocean and the group was able to climb up a small rocky hill to get a better view. The view was absolutely breathtaking! We all got back in the bus and drove on towards the Cliffs of Moher. We were able to enjoy the spectacular views and had a good amount of time to do so. 

Our next stop after the Cliffs was Killarney!  We arrived at our hostel and settled in and later went out to purchase cheap dinner from the local supermarket. We also got huge liters of Irish cider for our pregame later that night. In the hostel, the whole group made dinner in the kitchen and we all ate together! It was nice to really sit down and get to know all of these people. That night at our pregame, we taught the other travelers some American drinking games like flip cup and “never have I ever”.  The second game was definitely an interesting way of getting to know some of the dirtiest things that these people have ever done. Some were extremely surprising but the two Dutch boys were definitely the funniest! After our pregame, the paddywagon group headed out together to a bar nearby where it was a pub in the front and a dance club in the back. I eventually began dancing with a local boy from Killarney. He invited me to the bar next door to get a drink. Of course I accepted. This bar was filled with way more people my own age and I was able to meet some of his friends. I know I already said this, but I am in love with the Irish accent!  That night I also was serenaded to “Galway Girl” woo!  Later that night back at the hostel, the girls in my room all sprawled out together on the floor eating cookies and cheethos and exchanged stories from the night.  I’m going to miss everyone on this tour!!

                                                       Our amazing Canadian friends. Miss you!

Sunday, Feb 20, 2011

After a restful 3 hours of sleep, we all somehow managed to get ready rather quickly, ate cereal and toast (with nutella- shout out to Jessica Campion!) and hopped onto the paddywagon for our last day on this amazing tour of a lifetime. Unfortunately, I was a bit hung-over and a bus ride was probably the last thing that I needed. I tried to sleep but failed miserably. Oh well, probably much better to view the beautiful scenery of the Irish country.  As we traveled along, the excitement continued to build because today we were going to visit the Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone! I was feeling slightly better, and just in time as we arrived to the castle.  Our group explored and crawled and shuffled through tunnels in the castle before we finally managed to actually scale the stairs and check out the inside of the castle. We were able to see the rooms of the castle and we imagined how gorgeous it would have been in its prime.  

The time finally came to kiss the stone.  Apparently, all who kiss the stone are blessed with the gift of gab, but in an eloquent sense. The actual act of kissing the stone was frightening. There was an attendant at the stone, which was situated at the very top of the castle. The attendant had the most interesting job ever; he helped each person to lie down and hang their heads and shoulders off the side of the castle in order to stretch out and give this stone a smooch. I remember screaming a little like a small child, but worth it!

                                                                      Kissing the stone!

After our excursion to the castle, I instantly got really sad because I knew our Irish adventures were almost over. The bus took us back to our hostel in Dublin, where we (obvi) got ready real quick to go out. We picked up some delicious Irish cider for our pregame and met up with our awesome Canadian friends at their hostel. It must have been happy hour over there because the lobby was super rowdy with people drinking and playing drinking games. We met some pretty cool Brazilian guys and played one of my favorite drinking games- Horse Race (Shout out to my Glen Ellyn Friends at U of I!)  Before we knew, we got the entire lobby of people up and cheering for our game! Best. Pregame. Ever. We finished our drinks and headed out to THE Temple Bar in downtown Dublin. Drinks there were pricy (5.50 euro for one) but I’m extremely happy that I got to experience this place. Super touristy, but no pasa nada. Since there was barely any breathing room in the Temple Bar, our group headed across the way to another bar, Fitzsimmons. Shit got crazy to say the least. We danced and hilarity ensued, obviously. Rachel and I danced with our new Brazilian friends and had a ton of fun! We stayed out until morning, and with a full hour of sleep under our belts, our alarms sounded. That was pretty awful, but we needed to pack our bags and head to the airport. Sad day.

                                                         I'll miss you Ireland! See you soon hopefully :)

In all honestly, Ireland felt like a second home for me. I definitely want to go back someday, hopefully in the near future. I can now share stories with my family about our Ireland experiences!!

***Time for 2 whole days of school- then Barcelona!